General News

Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24711, 31 October 1945, Page 6

General News

Historic Letter from. Einstein On August 2, 1939, just' a month before the outbreak of war, Professor Ernstem—-whose article on the atomic bomb appears on this page—wrote a letter which made history. The letter, addressed to President Roosevelt, began: "Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szihird, which has been communicated tome in manuscripts, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new . and important source of energy in the immediate future." Professor Einstein continued: "This new ohenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs . . . extremely powerful bombs. A single bomb of this type carried by a boat and exploded in a port might very well destroy the whole port, together with some of the surrounding territory.."' It was Einstein's daring formula E-E-MC2 which led to the concept that atomic energy would some day be unlocked. , Wider Use of Pine Insignis pine, which is new chiefly used for making food containers, will be the timber used for the framing and flooring of future houses, states the Economic Information Service. As supplies of rimu and totara diminish it is likely that insignis pine will be widely used. It is possible, also, that' the pinewood will be used for papermaking. Greymouth Whitebait Run

There was a good run of whitebait in the Grey river yesterday, and large catches were made. It was the first large run since the Labour week-end, and the retail price was about 2s a pint.—(O.R.)

Vl3it by Battleship Unlikely The British battleship Duke of York, which, it was suggested last week, would visit Lyttelton. is ' not now likely to come to . New Zealand. — <F.O.P.R.)

British Engineering "The United Kingdom engineering industry has emerged from the war larger, better equipped, and endowed with a number of technipal advances which can be put to civilian use." said the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom (Sir Patrick Duff) in an address at the Dominion conference of the Associated Chambers of Commerce in Christchurch yesterday. "Its potentialities for absorbing orders are therefore greatly increased. It is still in the process, however, of negotiating the hurdle of reconversion. One of its great difficulties at present is in the field of specialised labour. There Is a shortage of draughtsmen, who are specially needed to , enable detailed quotations to be made for the sort of heavy capital equipment which overseas countries are needing." During the war the engineering industry had fallen into two sections—first, factories which had continued making their peace-time products because of their war-time imnprtance; and, second, factories which had been converted to munitions production. The problem of reconversion to peace production was much greater in the second class of factories thanin the others, added Sir Patrick Duff.

Error of Ancestry The well-known New Zealandcr, Rewi Alley, has been -endowed with remarkable qualities by correspondents in China. Vincent Brome in an article, "Towards a New China," endows Mr Alley, who is a New Zealander of Irish extraction, with even more remarkable qualities. • In the article he says that in the Tsinling mountains there is a cave which is changing the destiny of China. Not long ago it was a flea-ridden hole in the rocks, alive with chickens, ducks, and small boys. Later the walls were whitewashed, the frontage repapered, and a small pane of glass fitted into one wall. "Even so," continues the article, "the most elaborate attempts to bring it up to date cannot disguise the fact that it is still a cave. But that does not bother Rewi Alley. For Re w i Alley is the twentieth descendant of a long line of Chinese ancestors, and down the centuries they have learnt not to bother overmuch about worldly possessions" Allowance for Farm Trainees ! Difficulty has been experienced in some districts in arranging training for married former servicemen on far.ms where suitable accommodation for wives and families is not available, and the Rehabilitation Board has decided to consider applications for house allowances from former servicemen in such circumstances. The board has also reviewed its policy regarding furniture removals for married farm trainees, and besides paying for the first removal the board will meet the expense of others if they are necessary, and where they take place as a direct result of training. Where possible, married men.will be placed on properties where "there is suitable married accommodation," but otherwise the board will consider an application for a weekly house allowance to enable the trainee to maintain his city- or other home. The maximum allowance will be £ 1 10s a week.

Storage of Wool Surplus military, buildings in the South 'lsland have been made available .by the War Assets Realisation Board to meet the demand for wool storage space. The board's first annual Ju po ?k? t ,? t !: s T , that seven buildings at the R.N.Z.A.F. station at Omaka are in use, and two at the Seddon linen na? factory, and also hangars and buildings at the Ashburton aerodrome Buildings at the Westerfield and Delta camps are reserved for similar use. _ Import Licences The import licensing schedule which will be announced, shortly will have two unusual features. In the first place li T n u be t} je first time since the introduction of the licensing system that an increase in the volume of exports oyer the preceding year has been pro™ded for > an d in the second place the 1938 money value basis is being repaced by a quantitative basis. One f^rZ ulty . H 1 ? 4 w^n adse is imports from countries in the dollar bloc It is generally expected' that in allocations of imports from these sources it will be provided that importers will have to arrange for their own dollar funds, and that the Government will not undertake to make sterling exchange available— (F.0.P.R.) ttRS? S - Newfoundland at Bluff H.M.S. Newfoundland, a cruiser arrived'at Bluff yesterday morning from Sydney under the command of Captain C. C. A. Allen, R.N. The executive officer is Lieutenant-Commander M. Craig-Waller, R.N. The ship's company comprises about 76 5 ratings and 70 officers. Representatives of the Bluff Harbour Board, the Invercargill City Council, and the Bluff Borough Council paid an official call on the warship. Captain Allen paid an official visit to Invercargill. From Bluff, the cruiser will go to Port Chalmers, Lyttelfon, and Wellington before returning to Sydney.—(P.A.) Petrol Supplies Although it has been announced from Washington that all restrictions on the supply and transport of petroleum .productions have been lifted, this does not affect the position in New Zealand. War-time control by the United States and Britain has been mted, but in the meantime the limiting factor is dollar exchange, which is needed for both tankers and petrol. Until new financial arrangements between Britain and the United States are concluded there will be no improvement in supplies for New Zealand, and as a result no change in petrol rations.—(F.O.P.R.) Wheat Acreage in Britain Mr G. Holmes, leader of the party of New Zealand agriculturists sent to Britain to help with production during the war, told the small seeds conference at Timaru yesterday that Britain as a despair measure had doubled the wheat acreage of the country in the war years by ploughing in 6,000.000 acres of old grass land and sowing it in grain. Now Brßain was faced with the problem of getting agriculture back to a peace-time basis, and would need grass seed to put down psstures. Much of the 6.000.000 acr-s would have to be resown in grass. There would be an enormous demand for small seed and he urged farmers riot to be carried away by present prices, for they were a reflex of the times, he said. There would be keener competition among exporters when Denmark and other countries were able to put their seed on the British market. Seed producers must not look too far ahead, he said, and must improve their methods of growing. New Zealand growers I should be able to meet reasonable competition and still make a profit when lower prices prevailed, he said. 1—(0.R.) ,